Diplomatic Briefing
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Newsline: Peru claims “definitive withdrawal” of ambassador from Colombia
Peru’s government on Wednesday announced the “definitive withdrawal” of its ambassador from Colombia amid diplomatic tensions between both countries. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/peru-announces-definitive-withdrawal-ambassador-colombia-2023-03-30/) The decision responds to “repetitive interventionist and offensive comments” from Colombian President Gustavo Petro, Peru’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Newsline: Peru announces return of ambassador from Mexico
Peru’s President Dina Boluarte announced the return of the country’s ambassador in Mexico in response to comments from her Mexican counterpart branding her government as unconstitutional. Boluarte said the remarks made earlier on Friday by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador about her administration go against the international right to non-interference. Mexico’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Boluarte ascended to the South American country’s presidency on Dec. 7 after former President Pedro Castillo was impeached following an attempt to dissolve Congress. Boluarte accused Lopez Obrador of backing Castillo’s attempt at a “coup d’etat.” “With his statements, Mr. Lopez violates the principle of international law about non-interference in internal affairs, as well as those referring to the defense and promotion of democracy,” she said in a television address. Lopez Obrador told a news conference on Friday that Mexico will keep supporting Castillo, as he was “illegally ousted.” (https://neuters.de/world/americas/peru-president-announces-expulsion-mexican-ambassador-lima-2023-02-25/) Boluarte’s remarks come after a meeting between Lopez Obrador and Castillo’s wife, Lilia Paredes, in Mexico earlier this week.
Newsline: Peru ambassador to Honduras recalled
Peru withdrew its ambassador to Honduras, Jorge Raffo, due to Honduras’ “unacceptable interference” in the internal affairs of Peru, the South American nation’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. “As a consequence of the position adopted by Honduras, bilateral relations with said country will be maintained, indefinitely, at the level of chargé d’affaires,” the foreign ministry said on Twitter. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/peru-recalls-ambassador-honduras-unacceptable-interference-diplomatic-spat-2023-01-26/) The step is part of a deepening showdown between Peru President Dina Boluarte and her regional peers, including the leftist leaders of Mexico, Bolivia and Honduras. At the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Argentina earlier this week, Honduran President Xiomara Castro called Boluarte’s ascension to power a “coup d’état.” Boluarte became president in December after Castillo attempted to illegally dissolve Congress, was ousted and detained. Boluarte has struggled to calm political unrest as protests have left dozens dead, although she has called on Congress to move up elections.
Newsline: New Zealand Embassy in Peru to take care of stranded citizens
Protests in Peru are on hold over the festive season, but tensions remain high as locals are told to stay indoors. The New Zealand Embassy said the well-being of New Zealanders stranded in the country is of major concern. The Embassy said it has been working with local authorities to take care of stranded New Zealand citizens, providing food and medical support as well as organising their evacuation. A New Zealander in Peru, Garth Warner, said protests on are on hold until 3 January, but locals are told to stay home. “We couldn’t get to a hospital if we wanted to, the roads are blocked off with big rocks, trees and officials there won’t let you pass.” He said protesters have died at the hands of the Peruvian military. (https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/quite-a-few-number-of-deaths-new-zealander-in-peru-on-protests/) Since the dismissal of former President Pedro Castillo, who was detained after illegally trying to dissolve congress, violent protests have erupted around Peru. Last week, the international airport in Cuzco was reopened after the damage caused by protesters was repaired.
Newsline: Peru orders Mexico’s ambassador out as diplomatic spat deepens
Peru declared Mexico’s ambassador to Lima “persona non grata” and ordered him to leave the country on Tuesday, Peru’s foreign minister announced, in the latest escalation of tensions between the two nations after Peru ousted Pedro Castillo as president. The abrupt order, a severe measure in the world of diplomacy, gives Mexico’s envoy to the South American country just 72 hours to exit. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/mexico-says-has-granted-asylum-family-perus-castillo-2022-12-20/) The Peruvian government’s decision came hours after Mexico’s top diplomat announced that his country had granted asylum to the family of Castillo, who faces rebellion charges from behind bars after attempting what critics have labeled a coup on Dec. 7. Peru’s foreign ministry posted on social media that the ejection of Mexican Ambassador Pablo Monroy was due to “repeated statements from the highest authorities of that country regarding the political situation in Peru,” a thinly veiled reference to the support Mexico’s president has offered fellow leftist Castillo since his ouster by an overwhelming vote of lawmakers and his subsequent arrest. Mexico’s foreign minister took to Twitter on Tuesday night to blast Monroy’s expulsion, deriding it as “unjustified and reprehensible.” Last week, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sharply criticized last week the removal of Castillo as undemocratic, stressing that he continues to recognize Castillo as Peru’s lawful leader. Speaking at a news conference earlier in the day, Mexican Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said the government was negotiating safe passage for the family of Castillo, who were inside Mexico’s Embassy in Lima. Ana Cecilia Gervasi, Peru’s foreign minister, announced later on Tuesday that safe passage for Castillo’s wife and the couple’s two children had been formally approved.
Newsline: Peru’s foreign ministry calls Colombian president’s statements ‘unacceptable interference’
Peru’s foreign ministry called Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s recent and repeated statements about the political crisis in Peru an “unacceptable interference” in its domestic affairs. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/peru-calls-colombian-presidents-statements-unacceptable-interference-domestic-2022-12-19/) In a letter sent to Colombia’s embassy in Peru, the ministry said it had expressed its “deep dissatisfaction” with Petro’s comments, which it said did not reflect the longstanding respect between the two countries.
Newsline: Peru summons Mexican ambassador
The Mexican ambassador in Lima has been summoned by Peru’s foreign ministry on complaints Mexico is interfering in its internal affairs, after top officials weighed in on the ouster earlier this week of Peru’s former President Pedro Castillo. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard later said that Castillo requested for asylum, and Mexican President Lopez Obrador criticized Peruvian elites, calling for the protection of the ousted president’s human rights. Lopez Obrado also said he had directed Ambassador Pablo Monroy to “open the embassy’s door” to Castillo. Monroy reportedly met with Castillo on Thursday. A statement from Peru’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the “comments made by the Mexican authorities are an interference in Peru’s internal matters and do not reflect the events in recent days.” It added that the “comments made by these (Mexican) authorities about the right of asylum requested by former President Castillo, (we) informed Ambassador Monroy the need for states to follow all regulation established in current international treaties and to comply with all requirements.” (https://lite.cnn.com/en/article/h_4cb7233afd16a30c33aa2f2755b13439) Castillo, who was removed from power on Wednesday after he attempted to dissolve Peru’s Congress and call for new elections, was arrested while allegedly traveling to the Mexican Embassy, according to Peruvian prosecutors. Castillo is currently under a seven-day preliminary arrest ordered by the Supreme Court on Thursday. His arrest marks a humiliating downturn in Castillo’s short political career. The former schoolteacher and union leader rose from obscurity to be elected in July 2021 by a narrow margin in a runoff.
Newsline: Peru’s foreign minister resigns due to disagreements with President
Peru’s Foreign Minister, Miguel Rodríguez Mackay, resigned on Friday as head of the Peruvian diplomacy a little more than a month after taking office due to disagreements with Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. The resignation has been announced by the Peruvian Foreign Ministry itself through its Twitter account, where it has shared a “letter of irrevocable resignation” from the minister to Castillo. (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/peru-s-foreign-minister-resigns-due-to-disagreements-with-pedro-castillo/ar-AA11FfeA) The head of Peruvian diplomacy would have declined after a disagreement regarding the position between his sector and President Pedro Castillo on, for example, the Escazu Agreement signed in April 2021, Peru’s accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Convemar), and the recent recognition of the Saharawi Republic, as reported by ‘El Comercio’. Rodriguez Mackay announced that the Government was withdrawing its recognition of the Saharawi Arab Republic. However, the same day Pedro Castillo denied what his minister said, pointing out that Peru reaffirmed its relations with that country, according to ‘La República’.
Newsline: Embassy asks Irish to book €3000 emergency flight out of Peru
Around 100 Irish people stranded in Peru have been advised to book an emergency flight costing over €3,000. An email sent from the Irish Embassy to the stranded citizens said airline Avianca are considering running a charter flight for them – but that if it does go ahead it’s expected to cost around $3,500 per head. (https://www.corkbeo.ie/news/embassy-asks-irish-book-3000-17949307) The South American state this week suspended all flights as they launched a military lockdown in a bid to battle the coronavirus. Tourists were given little to no notice of the measures and up to 100 Irish were left stuck. The official government breakdowns show that the UK and Ireland had around 370 citizens there at the time with around 250 failing to get out before the lockdown kicked in.
Newsline: Peruvian diplomat, former U.N. Secretary-General Perez de Cuellar dies aged 100
Former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, a Peruvian diplomat who played a crucial role in ending the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988, died at his home in Lima aged 100. (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-un-perez-de-cuellar/former-u-n-secretary-general-perez-de-cuellar-dies-aged-100-idUSKBN20S0F0) Perez de Cuellar was a two-time head of the United Nations, which he led from 1982 to 1991 as some of the iciest years of the Cold War gave way to the end of the Soviet Union and greater efforts at international cooperation. Perez de Cuellar was the fifth head of the world body and its only leader from Latin America to date.
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